Govt not authorised to make changes: Ex-LoP Phoolka

Chandigarh: Former leader of opposition in Punjab assembly H S Phoolka said that even though there is no clarity on what the AAP government intends to do, it is not authorised to amend the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925. "If they plan to amend the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 in the Assembly, they are not authorised to do that, but even if they want to bring a new Act, it will be in violation of the Nehru-Master Tara Singh pact, which makes the consent of the SGPC mandatory," he said.Phoolka told TOI that Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 was amended twice by the Punjab Assembly but that was before the reorganisation of Punjab. As per section 72 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, the SGPC is an inter-state body and till the time the state does not enact its own bodies, the Act can be amended by the Centre. “The present SGPC is in Punjab, Chandigarh and Himachal and is therefore an interstate body and under the Centre. Punjab Gurdwaras Act is an inter-state Act and Punjab assembly can’t amend it,” he said. Phoolka referred to the Nehru-Master Tara Singh pact that there can be no amendment in the Act without the consent of the SGPC. “After 1966, the Centre made amendments in 1978, 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2015 but with the consent of the Parliament,” he said.